Car Bomb Attackers Kill 6 in Assault on Somali Police Building

by Naharnet Newsdesk31 July 2016, 10:50

Six people were killed Sunday in a gun and car-bomb assault on a police building in the center of the Somali capital that also left seven assailants dead, Security Minister Abdirasak Omar Mohamed said.

Some of the attackers rammed two cars into the building in central Mogadishu and others tried to storm it, he told reporters.

"All of the seven gunmen have been killed, some of them were shot by the security forces and others detonated themselves," he said.

"Five civilians died in the road and one policeman, so that the overall casualty number of deaths is 13," he added.

Earlier, security official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP that "terrorist elements" had smashed two cars packed full of explosives into the headquarters of the police's criminal investigations department.

An AFP correspondent heard an exchange of gunfire after the explosions, which took place near a busy junction in the city.

"One of the cars hit the corner of the building and the other hit near the gate. There was smoke and dust and everything was in a mess," said witness Abukar Osman.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The blasts came just days after at least 13 people were killed in twin bombings near Mogadishu airport and U.N. and African Union buildings.